Ministry of Education: Redistribution of Teachers Based on Actual Educational Specialization Needs

In the context of its ongoing efforts to develop administrative work and enhance the efficiency of human resources management in the educational field, and to continue implementing administrative reform plans aimed at strengthening the efficiency of the educational system, the Ministry of Education announced the continuation of measures to reorganize the workforce in schools starting next Sunday, October 4. This follows directives from Minister of Education Eng. Syed Jalal Al-Tabatabai regarding achieving a balanced distribution of personnel according to the actual needs of schools, thereby directing energies and competencies to the most needy locations, enhancing the stability of school operations, and placing the learner’s interests and educational needs at the forefront of priorities.

The Ministry of Education emphasized in a statement that administrative reform measures in the educational field are proceeding along two parallel and integrated paths. The first involves redistributing teachers between schools according to the actual need for educational specialties. The second involves reorganizing and assigning supervisory educational positions in accordance with the new organizational structure of school administrations and the approved job titles, based on a comprehensive review of workforce data and its actual distribution in schools.

The Ministry clarified that these measures followed a series of meetings and reviews addressing the reality of the distribution of educational and supervisory staff, which revealed disparities in the number of teachers and some supervisory positions from one school to another due to previous organizational accumulations. This necessitated reorganizing the distribution according to unified criteria linked to the actual needs of each school, the number of learners and classrooms, as well as the requirements of the approved organizational structure.

The Ministry pointed out that a review of actual data on the number of teaching staff in schools revealed a clear disparity in the distribution of personnel among some schools compared to their actual needs, while other schools had a need for the same specialties. Among the cases identified by the Ministry, it was found that one middle school had 66 Islamic education teachers, while its actual need was only 11 teachers. Additionally, one school had 22 fine arts teachers, while its actual need was only 4 teachers from the same specialty.

Data also showed a similar disparity in one kindergarten, where there were 30 teachers for only 4 classrooms. This underscores the importance of aligning the distribution of educational staff with the actual needs of each school, ensuring that available competencies are directed to the most needy locations and achieving balance among schools.

The Ministry of Education indicated that, in light of these indicators, the current phase of the first path involves redistributing teachers between schools according to the actual need of each school across various educational specialties, in proportion to the number of classrooms, learners, and capacity, with the aim of achieving balance in the number of teaching staff and making optimal use of available personnel, paving the way for the second phase of the surplus management plan.

The Ministry added that the redistribution of teachers is carried out according to clear controls and criteria, giving priority in transfers to those appointed most recently in schools where the number of teachers exceeds the quota determined for the school, calculated based on the number of classrooms and learners, while considering proximity to the school from which they are being transferred.

In the second phase, the Ministry of Education clarified that the measures include reorganizing and assigning supervisory educational positions in accordance with the new organizational structure of schools. This follows a data review that revealed the presence of more than one department head for the same academic specialty in certain schools, with some cases having two or even three department heads for the same subject. Additionally, the number of assistant principals for educational affairs in some schools reached four, while other schools have a genuine need for such staff, necessitating redistribution to achieve balance among schools.

The Ministry emphasized that addressing the disparity in the distribution of supervisory positions and assigning incumbents will be based on the organizational structure and actual needs of schools. Priority in transfers will be given to those most recently promoted to supervisory roles, while considering the proximity between the school of origin and the destination school to ensure optimal use of human resources and maintain job stability for employees.

The Ministry of Education noted that the new school organizational structure includes assistant principals for educational and student affairs, drawn from teaching staff progressing within the academic cadre, as well as an assistant principal for administrative affairs, selected from administrative staff advancing through the administrative track. Vacancies will be announced later to facilitate their assignment to school administrations in accordance with approved procedures and regulations.

The Ministry further explained that the new organization stipulates one department head per subject in each school, thereby clarifying responsibilities and jurisdictions and aligning with the numbers prescribed in the organizational structure. Any surplus in these positions will be redistributed to schools with genuine needs, ensuring balanced distribution of supervisory staff across all schools.

The Ministry stressed that these measures are part of a comprehensive administrative reform and do not aim at transfers per se, but rather seek to address disparities and previous organizational accumulations, achieve equity in human resource distribution, and establish sustainable solutions that ensure fair distribution of teachers in the future based on actual school needs. This will enhance the capacity of school administrations to perform their duties efficiently and support the stability of the educational process.

The Ministry also affirmed that the welfare of learners is the primary objective of the workforce reorganization measures. The distribution of staff is directly linked to the needs of students, classrooms, and specialties, ensuring that each school has the appropriate number of teachers and supervisory leaders. This contributes to strengthening the stability of the school environment and improving the efficiency and quality of the educational process, within a comprehensive vision for developing institutional performance and achieving optimal use of human resources in the educational field.